Murray Bartlett on male stripping and ‘loving and connected’ gay sex scenes in Welcome to Chippendales
Exclusive: “There weren’t any rimming scenes!” jokes The White Lotus actor of his latest role as a choreographer for a troupe of male dancers, as he talks Looking and winning an Emmy
“She could see where the night was going and made the right choice – I behaved badly!”
So laughs Murray Bartlett when we recall the incredibly rude moment Carrie Bradshaw abandons Ollie, a shoe salesman played by the Australian actor, in a bar in a 2002 episode of Sex and the City. (In her defence, this occurs only after he becomes enamoured with a hot punter nicknamed ‘size 11’.)
Murray’s small but memorable role as a gay man in a TV show with a rich, chequered and still-growing history of LGBTQ representation was prophetic. Years later, from 2014-2016, he won hearts as Dom, a stacked, soulful San Franciscan figuring out middle-age in Looking; he was similarly sweet as the HIV-positive Michael in the 2019 Netflix revival of Tales of the City.
But it was his performance as chaotic, HNH-loving hotel manager Armond in The White Lotus that really changed the game, generating countless headlines and winning him an Emmy. (He says of TWL SE2 finale – spoiler alert: Jennifer Coolidge’s character dies – “someone told me! I didn’t want to know, but I did. I knew before I watched the second season! But it was still incredibly satisfying. The way she dies is so brilliant.”)
“A friend said I had to leave it out for a week in a prominent place,” says the modest star of his award. “Just to absorb and not be like: ‘Whatever!’” He further reflects that “the last couples of years have been amazing – incredible roles.” It’s cheering, we note, to see him reach a professional peak at a later stage in life and career. At 51, he’s certainly looking more handsome than ever. “On every level, I’ve love getting older,” he tells us. “It’s a wonderful thing and I embrace it.”
Perhaps he should have assumed superstardom was an inevitability: he hails from Perth, Australia, a country that, despite its tiny population, has produced an outsized number of famous names. “I went to drama school with Cate Blanchett – we know each other, but not super well” Murray says, when Attitude mentions we’re interviewing the Tár star later that week. “She was the year after me – and Toni Colette was in hers. A stellar year!”
“I like to feel good in my body, so I do put time and energy into that” – Murray on body confidence
His latest role is as Nick, a choreographer to a trope of male strippers, in the Disney+ true crime drama Welcome To Chippendales, is perhaps his most high-profile yet. He once again plays a gay man – albeit closeted; a novelty in his filmography – and the subject matter is once again sexually charged. “But there weren’t any rimming scenes!” he jokes, referring to his water cooler moment with Lukas Gage in TWL. In fact, one senses the star is tiring of his association with such scenes. “There’s a misconception about queer people and queer relationships is that it’s all about sex and the physical,” he explains. His sex scenes in Chippendales, rather, are “loving and connected,” he insists.
“I was interested in exploring those intimate scenes with Andrew Rannells’ character in a way of, this man found joy in intimacy,” he says. “All his tragedy was not about him being a gay man. It was complicated at that time to be a queer person, and he was figuring out how to exist in the world, and part of that was being closeted. But I wanted to make that relationship feel loving and connected. I like that we were able to do that.”
He says Armond, Dom, and Nick all “exist inside me – maybe not a good thing to admit!” and specifically relates to Nick, an ambitious but blighted choreographer who transforms the Chippendales into a colossally sexy, world-recognised brand, because his path to success wasn’t a straight line. “Most actors can relate to the stereotype of the frustrated artist in some point in our lives. You have a sense of what you’re capable of, and sometimes that doesn’t match up with the opportunities you’re given.
“Nick is definitely that person. It’s an interesting life, because he won two Emmys for what I think is an extraordinary children’s show. It’s the work of a person with a great creative mind. But he never found the thing that would catapult him to what he wanted. In a lot of ways, Chippendales was that for him, and gave him a fair amount of success and notoriety.”
“I don’t think it would be hard to entice us to go back” – on the possibility of a Looking revival
On finding the body confidence to play Nick, despite living in our age of Instagram compare and despair, Murray says: “That is definitely a thing. I was a skinny kid. I had a really fast metabolism, which in many ways is a blessing. But I always wanted to have muscles. It took me years to physically grow into that phase of my life. I’ve tried not to succumb to those pressures, or buy into that bullshit about what our bodies should look like. However, I do also like to be healthy, and I like to feel good in my body. So I do put time and energy into that. But there was something about working on this show – we had great choreographers. Also, I’ve worked in theatre and been around dancers. I love going to see dance. So I know what that looks like; the way dancers inhabit their bodies.”
Except, of course, not all male strip shows are as entertaining or tongue-in-cheek as Chippendales or Magic Mike shows. This writer, for example, was once given a decidedly unsexy lap dance by a dead-behind-the-eyes budgie smuggler in Canada…
“I had a similar experience in Canada, and I didn’t rush back, I have to say!” giggles Murray. “It’s an odd thing. Some of those dancers are extraordinarily good at what they do. But, yeah, it was not my favourite…”
Still, we imagine a night out at a strip joint with the Looking guys would be a laugh. We sign off by asking if Murray be up for a revival of the beloved HBO show, that co-starred the likes of Russell Tovey and Jonathan Gross? His answer fills us with excitement. “That was one of my most enjoyable jobs ever,” he replies. “I’m still great friends with those guys. I don’t think it would be hard to entice us to go back.”
Welcome to Chippendales is streaming on Disney+ now.